They were scared. Somehow they knew of Anak, the giant whose sons now inhabited the land the LORD was about to hand them. The land for which He’d so miraculously brought His people out of slavery to possess.

No matter the miracles they had lived through. No matter the eyes of God that had seen them. He had heard their cries for salvation and had come and rescued them for the Promised Land.

These people forgot it all when they saw what stood between them and that land they were promised. They forgot it wasn’t they who were up against it but God.

They forgot His very name. I AM. They forgot He is. He is the One who rescues and saves and leads them by His hand through the impossible. He is the One who hangs out with their leader. The One who leads them by cloud and fire. The I Am who goes with them always.

The people of Israel forgot I Am.

It seems like God was trying to set His people up for a pep-rally of sorts. Like go see what I’m gonna’ give you! Go check out the beautiful, abundance you’re about to come into! I can’t wait for you to see your gift. But they got stuck on the gift wrap. It scared them. They had to get through the scary sons of Anak and the fortified cities. They had to get through battles before they could possess the gift God had promised.

They were too afraid to open the gift. That’s why these people of Israel, the ones in the wilderness, they never took the Promised Land. It was like they got stuck on a piece of tape, so they threw up their hands in desperation and gave up the whole gift. Deeming it unworthy of all it would require to actually open it.

They didn’t trust the Name of the very God who had rescued them from the hand of slavery and bondage to deliver the gift He had promised to give them.

If one of my kids did this, I’m telling you what — I think I would give that gift to someone else. Someone who was willing to get through the wrapping paper, tape and all, because they trusted me enough to know I would get them a gift that was worth it.

Do you trust God for the gifts He’s promised you or are you stuck on the fact that you don’t like the way it’s being presented?